Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1887-05-30
A Swamp Mystery.

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of the civil war.
Gen. Burnside had captured a long
reach of the seaboard and had estab-
lished his headquarters at Newbern.
No battles followed very soon, nor
any storms to speak of, but the army
and the weather were fast getting into
a high state of preparation for either
kind of event.
! There were Union troops at Fort
Macon and MOrehead city, not many
miles up the coast from Newhern,
and much pay was due them.
The money came down from the
north in July, and a couple of pay
masters received orders to go at once
and deal it out to the men.
Before the war railway had been
constructed from Newbern to More
head City. Its rails were still there,
but all its rolling stock, with the eX-
ception of one hand car, had gone in
| to the interior of the state. The vi
aduct was only just wide enough to
/ carry the rails, ,and much of its course
was through a swamp whose dense
/ bushes were now luxuriantly reach
ing out as if they meant to capture
/ the track before the end of the sea-
| son.
The quartermaster placed his one
hand car at the disposal of the pay
masters. He did so with the pleas
ant information that on the previous
evening the busy confederates had
made raid and had swept away all
the pickets posted along the line of
| the railway. New pickets had been
posted, he told them, and their pro-
posed trip would be reasonably safe.
''That Is" said he, Il guess you're
safe from any Confeds, but if you
don't get through before dark I'd
advise you to be pretty prompt about
answering any hail. The boys'H be
wide awake this time. They won't
be slow about taking care of them
selves in the dark. Not a man of
'em wants to go to Wilmington just
now. nor to Andersonville either"
That warning made the pavmasters
shake their heads and grow in impor-
tance before the hand car set out, for
it was plain enough that it would be
dark before the trip would be half
made. Precisely how dark it would
be or why was not as yet imagined
by anybody.
There were nine men huddled on
| that hand car when it went. a ser
| geant and four soldiers were its mo-
tive power, guard and garrison. The
writer of this story was there alto
gether as an adventurer. Two pay
masters, with the rank of major, and
one clerk were in charge of black
box containing over $50, 900 in green
backs to be scattered among the vol
unteers on the morrow.
The air grew more and more close
and sultry, and just before night a
haze began to rise over the eastern
horizon.
''That's it, MAJOR said the SER
geant to one of the paymasters. We
are going to hear from Cape Halter
as"
''Storm coming"
''Right along. 'Twon't take it
long to come"
He was correct as to the time re-
quired by Cape Hatteras, or whatever
was managing the storm. The sky
rapidly grew black as ink and dark
ness came with but moderate refer
ence to the departing sun.
Just before entering the denser
thickets of the swamps picket was
reached and the officer in charge re-
peated the warning of the quarter
master.
''Be ready to answer right away.
It'll be pitch dark, and some of the
bows are nervous after last nights
work. They'll shoot quick.
This was to the sergeant, but it
was a paymaster who replied:
s'Wen, now, captain, we didn't
say but we thought the trip would be
safer by night than by day. The
men have got to have the money"
'sHope tina rebs won't get it then.
Put her through, sergeant, but look
sharp. The storms most got here. :"
He also was correct about the
weather. In ten minutes more such a
storm had arrived as was a credit to
/ Cape Hatteras and the whole seacoast
/ of North Carolina. On rolled the
hand car, its crouching passengers
| drenched with rain, that fellin streams
rather than drops. The lightning
flashed almost necessarily and the
thunder seemed To be rolling around
/ all over the swamp. Except where
a streak of lightning cleft 1.-The dark
ness was like a solid wall, and there
was neither head light nor lantern
provided for that hand car.
s'WoIst storm | ever saw, remark
ed the sergeant, and one of the brace
of men who were acting as motive
power grunted back to him s.It's
the worst kind of a storm, but you
| can't see it.
1t was just correction of the
statement made by the sergeant; but
at that moment a hoarse, deep, sep
uIchral voice from al0on0 the bushes